These Years are Tainted
by spincycle
Summary: MWPP era that spans years 6 and 7. It's not just LJ, it covers every single one of the Marauder's stories. First bit is just the prologue. Rating just in case. Review if you can! Full summary inside.
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. The only things in this I do own are my original characters and the plot. I am not collecting anything from this, and my disclaimer is only going up once. All done.  
  
Full Summary: In the 6th and 7th Hogwarts years of the careers of the Marauders, there's a lot going on. There's James and his endeavors to win Lily Evans, while there's Remus with his own uncatchable girl. There's Sirius and the person who puts him through hell, and Peter and the troubled thoughts that are running through his mind. As always, there's the impending threat of Lord Voldemort. Just how exactly do James and Lily thrice defy him, anyway? Guest stars in the fic include anyone from the Marauder's era including teachers and Snape, members of the Order, and original characters.  
  
Peter gulped as he looked at the stone barrier. What were they playing at, having people walk straight through? He wasn't going to be able to do it; he'd have to go to a Muggle school; he'd be the shame of the family; he'd never live it down--  
  
"All you have to do is walk straight through the barrier, Peter. It looks like it's solid, but it's not. Just look straight at it and go right through," Peter's mother said, smiling down at him and giving him a little push. "You can do it. I'll be right behind you." Peter very much wanted to tell his mother he wasn't going to be able to do it after all, but he knew he had to try. He grabbed his trunk and headed toward the barrier. Feeling like it would be best to get the humiliation over with quickly, he broke into a run and squeezed his eyes shut.  
  
He was still running several seconds later when he crashed into, not the barrier, but a person.  
  
"Sorry!" he gasped, looking back. The barrier was behind him, and he had gotten onto the platform. His mother had appeared and was walking towards him.  
  
"'It's all right!" replied the boy he had bumped in to. "Are you a first year, too?"  
  
Peter nodded.  
  
"My name's James Potter," the boy said. He was rather tall, with a head of messy black hair. He wore glasses and gave off an air of confidence that Peter wished he could have.  
  
"Peter Pettigrew," Peter said, smiling weakly back.  
  
"Listen," James said, "I've got to go meet up with my mum--she's over there chatting with someone else's parents--but I'll see you on the train, I suppose. If I see a compartment I'll save a seat for you." Peter nodded, not trusting his speech. He had never been very good at meeting people, even people so nice as James. He gave James a shy smile. James, in turn, gave him a broad grin and left.  
  
"Who was that, dear?" his mother asked.  
  
"That's James Potter," Peter told her. "He's a first year, too."  
  
"Oh! A Potter!" said Mrs. Pettigrew, gazing in the direction James had went. "I've heard of their family. Quite influential; I believe that child's parents both work for the Ministry. My, you couldn't find better people around anywhere." She turned back to look at her son.   
  
"Listen, Peter, I want you to write me as often as possible. Tell me how you're doing and everything." Her eyes were oddly bright. "I'll see you at Christmas holiday, then."  
  
"Right," Peter said. If I survive until then, he thought to himself.  
  
"You'll be just fine, dear," Peter's mother reassured him, as if she had read his thoughts. She pulled him into a hug. "Goodbye, love," she said to him, smiling sadly.  
  
"Goodbye, mum," he returned. Smiling at her, he grabbed his trunk and boarded the train.  
  
Most of the compartments were full. It struck Peter how very tall the sixth and seventh years were, especially compared to him. He eventually found the compartment which held James.  
  
"Oy! Peter!" James said, beaming.  
  
"Hello," Peter said, lugging his trunk into the compartment and sitting on a bench.  
  
"This," James said, pointing to another boy with black hair, "is Sirius Black. I've been friends with him for a long time."  
  
"Our parents hate each other," said Sirius proudly.  
  
Peter, wondering what exactly was so great about that, nodded and smiled at Sirius.  
  
"This is Remus Lupin. We've only just met him," James said, gesturing to a boy who wasn't as tall as James or Sirius. He had sandy blonde hair and blue eyes.  
  
"Hi," said Remus, smiling at Peter.  
  
"Are you Muggleborn, Peter? Remus?" Sirius asked.  
  
"No, both my parents were magical," Peter replied.  
  
"So were mine," Remus said, nodding.  
  
Sirius's eyes lit up. "Then you'll know about Quidditch!" he said. "Did anyone catch that match last week, Australia against Canada?"  
  
"Oh, I did!" Remus replied. "It was good, wasn't it?"  
  
The best thing about Quidditch, Peter thought to himself, Is that it provides long and entertaining conversation. He smiled briefly before adding a comment about Australia's Seeker. Hogwarts might just be right for him after all.  
  


  


  
Review if you can. I should have the next chapter up not too long from now...then again, knowing me, it won't be up till HBP comes out, and God knows how long that'll take. Also, due credit to Something Corporate, because the title of this story comes from two of their lines that I kinda meshed together. Thanks!  



	2. She's Got a Way

James surveyed the platform, trying to appear confident but inwardly very apprehensive. His sixth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was about to start, and he was sure it would prove not only to be tiresome academically but challenging when it came to the touchy matter of a certain Lily Evans.  
  
James, for his part, thought he was working splendidly at the whole courting thing; on the last day of fifth year he'd said hello to her and she hadn't cursed him, which had to count for something. However, Remus seemed to think otherwise.  
  
"I've told you, James," he called over his shoulder as he walked down the aisle on the train, "You're going it about it all wrong."  
  
"Forgive me if I don't take your advice as much as I should, Moony, but it's rather hard to believe you when you haven't had a girl in eight months," James snapped back. He was rather touchy when it came to courting Lily.  
  
Remus didn't seem too abashed. "I know, but I still know what's best for you."  
  
"Oh, Remus, you have no idea how much you sound like his mother," Sirius said, laughing and peering into a compartment. "Well, they're busy in there," he said lightly. "Come on, we should find one soon enough."  
  
The next compartment contained only two people, but it didn't seem right to go in there. The infamous Marcus Dolby and the even more infamous Layne Redding were flinging curses at each other like there was no tomorrow. Layne and Marcus had been together their entire fifth year, and it was clear that their evident breakup had not been an easy one.  
  
"I know what happened," Peter said. "I'll tell you when we find a compartment." The next compartment was empty, but none of the Marauders wanted to be in such close proximity to the obviously enraged Layne and Marcus, so they opted for the compartment after it, which was void of people.  
  
"So," Sirius said as he settled down onto a seat, "What happened with those two, Peter?"  
  
"Well," Peter said, visibly excited that there was information he had gotten to first, "Layne was dead tired of Marcus, but she didn't want to break up with him--don't ask me why; I haven't any idea. Marcus was getting tired of Layne himself so he started cheating on her this summer. Layne was cheating herself, and when they found out about each other's," Peter coughed, "Summer escapades, they started hexing each other like mad on the platform early this morning. Their friends had to drag them onto the train." Sirius nodded as he gazed out the window, appearing a bit dazed.   
  
"Stunningly beautiful. Fiery. A reputation that precedes her, from which I can only assume she's an excellent kisser. Yeah, I think Layne Redding sounds about right for me."  
  
Remus snorted. "The reputation that precedes her happens to be something along the lines of, 'Lost her virginity at age twelve, is a Ravenclaw but acts like a Slytherin, and almost flunked out of Potions when she called Professor Sifton a "hard-assed miserable old hag"'--to her face."  
  
"Yeah, and she's loaded," Sirius said, smiling vaguely.  
  
Remus buried his face in his hands. "Well, I suppose she's single now. I hope that makes you happy."   
  
"Oh, it does," Sirius assured him. "I'd better talk to her sometime today and start the year off right."  
  
"Talk?" James said, quirking an eyebrow. He highly doubted Sirius had talked with any girl he was after for more than five minutes.  
  
"Well, at first!" Sirius said, pretending to look highly affronted. "I don't just jump into things. I am Sirius Black. Sirius Black has charm and class as well as a great body, esteemed snogging talent, money, and...other redeemable qualities."  
  
Peter snorted.  
  
"Well, I'm going to go see if Layne and Marcus are done yet. There's no time like the present, after all," Sirius said, winking. He left the compartment.  
  
"I should go now, too, actually," Remus said, checking his watch. "Prefects have to patrol and everything...I should be back in an hour." Peter and James looked at each other. James knew what he wanted to do, but he also didn't want to leave Peter.  
  
"Oh, go on," Peter said. "Don't worry; I've got a copy of The Quibbler which has an interesting story in it."  
  
James laughed. "Wormtail, the Quibbler's absolute rubbish."  
  
Peter shook his head. "No, this is real, I'm telling you. There's something called a Double-Headed-Wheemboggler, did you know? There aren't very many left in Europe, but there are a couple abroad in Norway and a few more in--"   
  
James laughed, shaking his head. "I'll be back in a bit," he said, mussing his hair up unnecessarily.  
  
"G'luck!" Peter called to James's retreating back.  
  
James, having looked at Remus's prefect schedule for the train ride, had already memorized when Lily had to patrol, and it wasn't for another two hours. James figured he could chat her up for a few minutes, give her a few dazzling smiles, then snog her senseless. And with his witty humor and benign charm, who could resist?  
  


  
  


  
Remus looked over his prefect schedule, trying to control his breathing. He was right outside the prefect compartment, steadying himself. This was the fourth time he'd double-checked the chart, and it had stayed the same all five times...would that be quinto-checking? It would make sense, seeing as it would be the fourth double-check wouldn't really be double-checking; it would be quinto-checking. But was the 'o' really necessary? Could it just be 'quint-checking.' The word somehow didn't flow as nicely without the 'o'.  
  
"Remus?" Remus dropped his schedule. "With the 'o'!" he blurted.  
  
The eyebrows of Terri Swann knitted together in confusion. "Sorry?" she asked, tilting her head to the side. Remus had seen her do that in class so many times, he knew the exact angle relative to the floor that she did it.  
  
"Er..." he said, trying not to blush. He didn't want to explain his 'quint' rambling. "Well, I was thinking about the spells I need to practice--I wasn't really getting the hang of a charm they taught us at the end of last year. Then I realized I wasn't saying one of the syllables with enough of the 'o' sound."  
  
Terri nodded. A brief silence.  
  
"So, are you going to get that or shall I?" she asked.  
  
It was Remus's turn to be confused. "Huh?" he said.  
  
She smiled slightly. Whenever she smiled slightly, the right side of her mouth turned up, not the left. In her larger smiles, both sides turned up evenly. Remus wondered why she favored her right side.  
  
"Your schedule," she said, pointing to the floor.  
  
"Oh!" he said, and bent down to pick it up. He took another glance at it--he supposed he was hex-checking it now. Or maybe hexo-checking. "So you're my patrol partner?" he asked. He wanted to make sure.  
  
"Looks like it," she replied, smiling brightly. Remus breathed a sigh, half of relief that he wasn't imagining it and half of terror. What was he going to talk about it when he was patrolling for a whole hour with Terri Swann? Remus wasn't quite certain why he hadn't told his fellow Marauders about his infatuation with Terri Swann. Sure, they'd tease him a lot, but he'd told them about other girls he'd liked, and he'd been able to deal with the teasing then. There was just something inexplicably different about Terri that kept him back from telling anyone what he felt.  
  
The real reason Remus hadn't had a girl in eight months was, in fact, Terri. He'd started liking her right before fifth year ended. However, she was involved with then sixth year Fabian Prewett, and Remus had hoped that over the long course of the summer he'd be able to get over her. He found, however, that not seeing her only made his feelings for her intensify.  
  
Terri wasn't stunningly pretty, but she had a sort of mysterious air that surrounded her. She had light brown hair that traveled not too far past her shoulders. It had a bit of a natural wave, but Remus thought her most piercing feature was her eyes. They were grey-blue and had an astonishing intensity to them. Remus hardly ever looked her in the eyes for fear of staring too hard and too long into them. Her eyes displayed her personality--mostly fun and games, but also very shrewd and clever. She displayed some very authoritarian qualities, and Remus assumed that was why she was selected as a prefect. She never acted bossy or demanding, though. She just had a strange air about her that made people want to listen to what she said. She was a perfect Ravenclaw, he thought to himself.   
  
"Shall we start, then?" Terri asked.  
  
"I s'pose so," Remus said, trying to keep his voice as even as hers was. They started up the corridor, looking on the compartments. Remus had always hated patrolling the train; it was the most popular place for students to get cozy with each other because there were never any adults that walked around the train other than the witch who pushed the food cart. Remus hated breaking up couples; it was embarrassing not to mention stupid, seeing as anyone he knew above third year had at least made out within the walls of the one of these compartments. Still, it was his job.  
  
"So..." Remus said, racking his brain for something to say. "How're you and Fabian doing?"  
  
He wondered why on Earth he had brought up his object of affection's boyfriend. She was bound to realise--  
  
"We broke up, actually. Long while back. I'm surprised you didn't hear about it," she said, peering into a compartment. "Oy! Stop that!" she called, rapping her knuckled on the door. "I hate doing this," she said plainly. "Worst part of being a prefect."   
  
"Oh, I hate it too," Remus said. "Makes me feel like a teacher or something." "Me too," Terri said, nodding. "Especially since we're all just as guilty of it."  
  
Remus nodded. This was true.  
  
Remus had been extremely worried about being able to string together a complete sentence in the presence of Terri, but it turned out he had nothing about which to worry. Once they had chosen something to talk about, the chatter didn't pause for half a second.  
  
Eventually, they came to the compartment Terri would normally be in. They heard shouting and a familiar voice--that of Lily Evans.  
  
"Ten Galleons James is in there and he's the subject of Lily's screaming," Remus said, glancing at Terri.  
  
She met his gaze. "I wouldn't be half so stupid so as to bet against you on that one."  
  
There was a pause in the screaming, and a male voice. Then the shrieks resumed, louder than before.  
  
"...I think we can bypass this compartment, don't you?" Remus said quickly.  
  
Terri nodded. "Nothing seems out of place."   
  
"You got that right," Remus said dryly.  
  
The only other compartment after that one they had any trouble with was one holding Layne Redding and Sirius Black, and they appeared busier than any other couple Terri and Remus had seen on the train.  
  
"Break it up," Remus said, knowing full when they wouldn't stop, but hell, he had to try.  
  
Sirius paused long enough to wink at Remus and Terri before he resumed. Terri and Remus exchanged a look, then hurried away from the scene.  
  
"Well," Remus said, checking his watch, "It's been an hour."  
  
Terri checked her watch as well. "Sure has. It's been fun, though. Didn't seem like an hour."   
  
"Nope," Remus said, and he meant it. "See you at the feast, then?"  
  
"Sure thing," Terri said, staring at him with her lovely grey-blue eyes. She turned to go.  
  
"Sorry about Fabian," Remus called after her. Instantly he was berating himself as to why he had to bring him up again when the hour had gone so well.  
  
Terri turned around and gave Remus a strange, calculating look. "Don't worry about it," she said finally, and with a final slight smile that was so characteristic of her, continued down the hall.  
  
Remus had just survived an hour of chatting with Terri Swann, and there had been minimal embarrassment involved! Since he couldn't exactly do a victory dance in the middle of the narrow train corridor, he settled for letting a huge, dopey grin spread across his face. Sixth year was going just fine. 


	3. Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again

  
Sirius looked around the dormitory that had the sign reading "sixth years" on the door. He went to the far right bed -- the one that was, by custom, his -- and promptly dumped his trunk over onto the floor.  
  
Remus wrinkled his nose. "Why do you always have to do that?" he asked, setting his trunk down at the foot of his bed.  
  
Sirius shrugged. "That's where all my stuff is going to end up anyway. There's no sense in prolonging the inevitable."  
  
Remus snorted. "Yeah, I can tell by the speed you hooked up with Layne on the train today." Sirius grinned, completely unashamed. "It was bound to happen. Besides, I needed a new girl to start my year off. And she is beautiful, not to mention fiery. Not unlike Lily," Sirius said, addressing James.  
  
James shot him a look. "I definitely see a difference between Evans and Layne."  
  
Sirius shrugged. "All I know is, I should have a good time this year with Ms. Redding. Sirius Black and Layne Redding. It even sounds good."  
  
Peter's eyes widened. "Oh, I get it!" He laughed a rather weak, fast laugh. The other Marauders turned and stared at him.  
  
"Layne Redding and Sirius Black. Well, I don't think it sounds all that extraordinary," James said, doing his best to be waspish. Getting yelled at by Evans even louder than usual had put him in a rotten mood, Sirius decided.  
  
"You're not saying it right," Sirius corrected him. "First off, you've got to put my name first, because even though Layne is stunning, I'm more so, on principle. Second, you've got to say it like it's chocolate cake, otherwise it ends up sounding like something as dull as James Potter and Lily Evans."  
  
"I think James Potter and Lily Evans sounds quite good!" James said indignantly.  
  
Sirius waved it away as unimportant. "Too next-door-neighbour sounding. Sirius Black and Layne Redding sounds like an Event."  
  
"Lily and James Potter sounds even better," James declared.  
  
"Layne and Sirius Black!" Sirius countered.  
  
"Moony!" they both shouted at the same time, whipping their heads around to face him.  
  
Remus, who had been organizing his clothing for the next day, sighed. "Sirius Black and Layne Redding sounds better than James Potter and Lily Evans, but Lily and James Potter sounds better than Layne and Sirius Black," he announced, ever the peacemaker. Both Sirius and James accepted this. "I wouldn't ever marry her anyway," Sirius said confidently, and he couldn't have been more right.  
  


  


  
Lily was even more happy than others to be back at Hogwarts.  
  
Her summer, unlike everyone else's, had been horrible. She had stayed home all summer, but she wished she had crashed at a friend's house instead. Lily's sister, Petunia, was even more unbearable this summer. It was bad enough that Petunia disliked Lily for the magic in her blood. It was another thing entirely to have Petunia's boyfriend who hated Lily almost as much as Petunia did over for what seemed the entire summer.  
  
Petunia had taken her sister aside what seemed like the minute Lily got home and hissed to her, "My boyfriend is here a lot nowadays and I'm trying to get mum and dad to like him. Don't do anything to screw anything up." Lily stared at Petunia. "Nice to see you too," she said finally, and pushed past her to go up the stairs.  
  
Lily had barely seen her parents the entire summer; she had locked herself up in her bedroom, writing long letters to all her friends to be delivered with her owl, Juno. The one time she'd joined the entire family for tea had been far from enjoyable.  
  
Vernon Dursley, a large young man with a lot of chin and very little neck, was beefy and obnoxious. He spoke his words with his hands, pounding them on whatever surface was closest. He was trying to grow a mustache but having a very hard time about it. Vernon went around speaking as though the entire population was deaf; Lily was surprised she hadn't been able to hear him from her upstairs bedroom the entire summer.  
  
When Lily had entered the room and found her parents, Petunia, and Vernon there, she had braced herself for a time that she thought might be unpleasant. It turned out to be quite painful, in more than one sense of the word.  
  
Vernon knew about Lily's magical blood, and apparently liked it about as much as Petunia did. He didn't taunt Lily like his girlfriend did, though. He rather chose to pretend Lily didn't exist.  
  
"Good afternoon, Mr. Evans, Mrs. Evans," he said, sitting on the couch next to Petunia.  
  
Lily sat down on the chair closest to the door. She hadn't expected a warm welcome.  
  
There was a spell of silence, and then Mrs. Evans asked, "Lily, could you get the tea from the kitchen? Petunia, could you help her?" Lily sprang up obediently, and Petunia begrudgingly got up as well.  
  
Once in the kitchen, Petunia again had to warn Lily. "Don't try anything. This is a very, very important event and I don't want you to ruin it."  
  
"What's so important?" Lily asked.  
  
Petunia flashed her hand in Lily's face, and Lily could see a very obvious, very gaudy, and what must have been very expensive diamond ring on the ring finger.  
  
Petunia smirked. "Don't ruin this for me, Lily," she said, her tone deadly serious.  
  
"Well, I wasn't going to," Lily said, "But now, because you're really pissing me off, I think--"  
  
"Lily!" Petunia said, glaring at her sister. "Don't even think about it."  
  
Lily thrust a tray of cookies into Petunia's hands. "Get out there."  
  
Lily very much wished she was seventeen, so she could do magic freely, but she wouldn't turn seventeen until the following year. Still, she could incense Petunia without magic.  
  
Lily brought the tea and china out into the living room and gave everyone some. When everyone had settled down, Lily set her cup down and said matter-of-factly, "I really should tell everyone my huge accomplishment. It's a huge deal," Lily said brightly.  
  
Petunia spat out her tea. "What, Lily?" she said in a very dangerous voice.  
  
Lily ignored this and ploughed on. "Well, it turns out that on my O.W.L.s--you know, the tests we take in our fifth year?--I earned an O.W.L. for each of my classes."   
  
Mrs. Evans beamed. "Oh, Lily, that's wonderful!" she cried.  
  
"That's my girl! You never let us down." Mr. Evans smiled at Lily.  
  
Lily took a piece of parchment out of her pocket. "See?" she said, showing her parents. "Care of Magical Creatures, Astronomy, Herbology, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Charms, Potions, History of Magic, Transfiguration, and Arithmancy. Would you like to see, Petunia?" Lily asked innocently.  
  
Petunia looked murderous.  
  
"Oh, this calls for a celebration," Mrs. Evans said, grinning happily. "I'll go bake a cake, Lily. I knew you'd do well."  
  
Mr. Evans clapped Lily on the back. "You always have been the overachiever in the family, Lily," he said, smiling fondly at her.  
  
"Lily," Petunia said through gritted teeth, "Could I talk to you in the hall?"  
  
"Of course, Petunia," Lily said, smiling sweetly.  
  
Petunia practically dragged Lily into the hallway. "You. Stole. My. Thunder." she said, hardly able to get the words out.  
  
"I just got the letter today; I couldn't not show it to mum and dad," Lily argued.  
  
"No, Lily. You've been doing this ever since we were kids. I'd find five easter eggs, you'd find ten. I'd be citizen of the month for my grade, you'd be citizen of the year for yours. You always have to show me up!" Petunia cried, her voice rising.  
  
"Petunia, calm down!" Lily said, a bit surprised at how irate Petunia was.  
  
"Goddamnit, Lily, everything I do, you have to win. You just have to do something that's so spectacular, everyone will forget about Petunia. I'm sick of it, Lily!" Petunia was shouting by now.  
  
Lily didn't even see it coming before Petunia's fist connected with her jaw. She stumbled backwards, half from the blow and half out of shock. Petunia was normally very prim, and would normally not resort to violence.  
  
"Listen, Lily," Petunia said, her voice low and intensely calm. It was worse than her shouting, Lily thought. "I've never liked your unnaturalness, yet I've always put up with you. But this is the last straw. I can't believe you would purposefully do this to me. God, I can't even tell you have much I loathe you. Just stay in your goddamned bedroom for the rest of the summer and you're lucky if I ever, ever so much as look at you again."  
  
Petunia turned on her heel and headed back to the living room, leaving Lily speechless.  
  
Lily knew she'd done something that wasn't needed, and she would never have done it normally, but Petunia had, in her opinion, asked for it. She also knew she and Petunia had their differences and they didn't get along, but she'd never thought that Petunia actually hated her. Lily thought that one day when they were adults Petunia would ring her and stop this ridiculous spat. But the thought that Petunia really did despise her had never crossed Lily's mind, and now that she realized it was true, it made her feel miserable, empty. Her sister hated her.  
  
She had therefore returned to her bedroom and remained there as much as possible.  
  
After the welcoming feast, Lily had immediately gone up to the dormitory for what promised to be a long talk with her friends. Even though they had talked on the train, it had been too open to really discuss anything and there had been too many disruptions (though none worse than when Potter had burst into the compartment). She hoped in the dormitory they could get a lot more talking done before classes started.  
  
"So, Lily, how was your summer?" Lily sighed and gave her friends a small summary of her summer. "I'm just glad to be here," Lily said. "Back with sane people, back with people whom I can say the word "magic" in front of without receiving murderous looks."  
  
"I know how you feel," Vesta Tartanium said sympathetically. "My brother thinks magic is the craziest thing. He may not hate me like your sister, but you should see some of the looks he throws me when I talk about Hogwarts."   
  
Lily smiled wryly. "The looks Petunia throw me could murder Nicholas Flamel on the spot."  
  
The others laughed, and then suddenly, Vesta asked, "Whoa! I can't believe I didn't ask this before. Where's Selene? She wasn't on the train."  
  
Lily had been wondering this as well. Selene Larson was their fifth roommate and very good friend. She was graceful and composed, and never overreacted. She never really stood out, but everyone loved her. Alice McKinnon and Renee Ottoman stopped laughing immediately at this question, and worried looks dominated their faces.  
  
"I keep forgetting that you guys are Muggleborn," Renee said. "It was all over the papers."  
  
"What happened?" Lily said, now anxious.  
  
"That's the thing; nobody's entirely sure. Her whole family disappeared this summer. There was no sign of struggle at their house, so that leads most people to believe that they either went into hiding or went willingly."  
  
There was a pause, and the same thoughts ran through each person's minds. Lily shook her head. "This doesn't necessarily mean Voldemort," she said, mainly to convince herself and not the others.  
  
"Don't be stupid, Lily," Renee said sharply. "I know you don't really believe that."  
  
"It is him," Vesta said shakily. "But Selene's family would never have gone willingly. We've all been to their house. They're good people."   
  
"Not unless they were under their control," Alice spoke up, looking frightened at the thought. "We're learning about the Unforgivable Curses this year in Defense Against the Dark Arts, I've heard."   
  
"That's right!" Lily said. "What about the Imperius Curse? Voldemort could have--" she didn't want to continue. The idea of Selene and her parents under the Imperius Curse was not only horrible but alarming, seeing as they were all very capable witches and wizards. The thought only affirmed Voldemort's power.  
  
"Well, we can't rule the idea that they went into hiding," Renee reminded them.  
"That's right. I mean, Voldemort might have known they were a powerful family. He may have wanted them out of the way and the Larsons may have known this," Alice said sensibly.  
  
Vesta shook her head. "Well, whatever it is, it can't be good. I just wish Selene was right here at Hogwarts with us. This is really unsettling." Lily nodded vehemently. "It really kinda makes me realize how big this whole Voldemort thing is. I mean, I know he's bad, and now...it's really hit me." The others nodded in agreement.  
  
"I hope she's okay," Alice said softly. Lily knew she meant Selene.  
  
"We all do. I gues we can just hope that she comes back to Hogwarts soon," Renee said. There was silence for a bit, and then Vesta announced, "Well, I'm going to sleep." The others agreed that it was quite late, and they all climbed under the covers of their respective beds. Lily, however, didn't actually fall asleep for a long time. She lay awake, thoughts about Selene and about the horrors Voldemort had in store heavy on her mind.  
  
A/N: It shouldn't be too long before the next chapter. I think I've been updating this fairly regularly, and if I haven't you have my deepest apologies. Also, due credit to Billy Joel for providing the previous chapter's title, and...uh, Phantom of the Opera/Andrew Lloyd Webber for this chapter's title. I know, I'm completely unoriginal. But hey, I think it gives a nice twist to the story -- having its chapters named by lyrics. Anyway, please review!  



	4. What a Waste

Sixth year had proved to be even harder than fifth year. Even though they still had more than a year to prepare for their N.E.W.T.s, the teachers were holding class as though the testing started tomorrow, and giving out homework accordingly. For the first few weeks of the year, the sixth years were exceedingly busy, trying to adjust to the new schedules of lots of work and very little free time. After they had all grown a bit more accustomed to their busy schedules and were working better at getting their assignments done as early as possible, it allowed for more free time with each other.  
  
Peter was only taking six classes. He had managed for Divination, Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Astronomy, Herbology, and Care of Magical Creatures. The other Marauders had Transfiguration, History of Magic, and Potions to worry about in addition to all of Peter's classes save Divination, which they had all, except Peter, deemed worthless. Even though Peter had less classes than the rest of them, he still managed to get behind and it was only by copying Remus's Defense and Charms homework almost nightly that he managed.  
  
Remus looked at Peter as he hurriedly copied down an essay on the history of vampires. "What are you thinking of doing when you get out of Hogwarts, Peter?" he asked.  
  
Peter had given that a lot of thought, and the truth was, he still didn't have a clear idea. When he was little, he'd often fantasized of being a Quidditch player for England, but he knew that was out of the question.  
  
"I was thinking of maybe reporting," Peter said, hoping Remus wouldn't poke too much fun. "The Quibbler seems like a very interesting magazine; I'd like to report or edit or something."  
  
Remus nodded thoughtfully. "What else?" he asked.  
  
Peter furrowed his brow in thought. He didn't really want to work on The Quibbler. That wasn't enough fame and glory for his taste. But there wasn't anything at which Peter knew he could have a clear and easy path to success. He wanted to join a powerful organisation, something where he could be part of a group. It seemed the only chance he had at being well known. He didn't have to be the head of it all, but to have a part in it would definitely bring him some status, if only by association to the people that did all the leading. Peter was a very good follower.  
  
The only problem was, Peter was having trouble finding an organisation that suited his needs: Something powerful, something world-changing, something in to which he wouldn't have to put large amounts of effort, and something which he could be part of without having to have achieved ten N.E.W.T.s. One thing was certain: The Ministry of Magic didn't fit those qualifications.  
  
"I guess I'm just going to have to see what opportunities come up," he said, hoping that was good enough for Remus. Evidently, it was, because Remus nodded and went back to his Transfiguration homework, leaving Peter to finish copying the essay down.  
  
As it was the beginning of October, the Marauders were in deep deliberation as to what their Halloween prank was going to be. As their years at Hogwarts had progressed, the pranks had gotten steadily more large and magnificent, and they were determined not to let this one ruin the pattern. By the second weekend in October, they'd come up with what they had decided would be a brilliant prank, and they were rather surprised they hadn't thought of it before.  
  
The Gryffindor sixth years who were girls had seen them gathered in the common room planning, and were very curious and also very wary to know what was being planned. Secrecy, however, was one of the statutes the Marauders abided by rigidly, and therefore Lily and Vesta were extremely surprised when they got pulled into one of these planning sessions.  
  
"You're Muggleborn," Sirius said as they sat down.  
  
"That we are," Lily replied, exchanging a bewildered look with Vesta.  
  
"So we need your help..." Remus said, and proceeded to fill them in on the plan.  
  
Lily and Vesta went along willingly enough, part of the reason for their doing so probably being that James was not at this meeting. The other Marauders had forbade him because they didn't want his presence to influence Lily's decision as to whether or not she would go along.  
  
The next morning, Lily and the rest of the Gryffindor sixth year girls traveled down for breakfast. Lily and Vesta were especially tired after the long talk with the Marauders (minus James) the night previous.  
  
Lily looked up for Juno as the post came, but he didn't appear. However, Alice got her normal Daily Prophet delivery, and proceeded to look it over. What she saw on the front cover made her spill her pumpkin juice all over her toast.  
  
"Oh my God!" she gasped.  
  
"What?" Renee said, leaning over to have a look. Her eyes widened in shock, and she quickly scooted closer so that Vesta and Lily could have a better look at the paper.  
  
The front headline was telling enough: "Possible Connection Between Recent Muggle Attack and Larson Family."  
  
Reading the article, Lily found that there had been a large attack on Muggles the day previous. It read:  
  
"In London there was a large commotion yesterday as a whole neighborhood of Muggles was ransacked by what appears to be the Dark Lord, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. At least one Muggles was murdered in each house, and above each was a peculiar green symbol floating. The symbol was a skull wait a snake protruding from its mouth. This Dark Mark leaves no doubt He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named instigated this attack.  
  
As for the Larsons, no Ministry Wizard dispatched to clean up the attack saw a member of the family at the sight. However, above one of the houses where an entire family had been killed was the Larson family crest had been set on the door using what looked like a variation of the Flagrate Charm.  
  
Cornelius Fudge, a member of the Department of Magical Catastrophes, was at the scene and commented for the Prophet. 'The Ministry is looking into why the Larson family crest is here and efforts to find them have been doubled,' he said somewhat distractedly. 'We have no proof that there is a connection between You-Know-Who and the Larsons; however, we must examine every bit of evidence found at the scene and, as I said before, redouble our efforts to find out what happened to the family. Thank you.'"  
  
Lily had read more than enough. "Ridiculous," she pronounced it. "It's almost laughable." The other girls nodded in unison.  
  
"Selene wouldn't. None of them would. They just couldn't," Alice said, shaking her head.  
  
Renee was frowning. "I don't know what to think," she admitted. "I mean, I know Selene would never help in the murders of all those Muggles, but...what was their crest doing there?"   
  
Vesta shrugged. "It could be an elaborate hoax," she said hopefully. "I just wish the Ministry figures out where they went sometime soon."  
  
A final chorus of nods, and then they were all silent again for the remainder of breakfast, each drowning in their own thoughts and worries about Selene and her family.  
  
The news about the Larsons spread quickly, and by the time the Great Hall was filled with students there for dinner the entire school was convinced that Selene was a bloodthirsty killer and that her entire family was right in there with You-Know-Who and had been all along. The sixth year Gryffindors, however, remained unconvinced of this and sat down to dinner to discuss matters some more.  
  
"Look," Vesta said suddenly, pointing at the Slytherin table. Lily saw that most of the Slytherins were looking quite pleased. There were a couple of sixth and seventh years who were conversing what looked to be privately and quickly. Bellatrix Black had an uncharacteristically serious face on and was talking to Severus Snape, who was looking looking just as seriously back at her.  
  
"Figures," Renee said darkly.  
  
"The older ones have probably known about the attack for ages," Alice said, staring at Bellatrix and Snape.  
  
Lily and Vesta nodded, and Lily was quiet for the remainder of the meal. She was again worrying about Selene.  
  
As soon as they were done, they got up to return to the Gryffindor Common Room and work on the mountain of homework that was waiting for them. They were quite aware of the curious looks they were receiving from many of the other students--after all, they had had roomed with Selene and had known her best out of all the students at the school. They were determined, however, to ignore these looks.  
  
"Hey, guys!" a voice called from close behind them. The four girls turned around to see Terri Swann hurrying to catch them. Terri was a close friend of all of them, and Lily in particular.  
  
"I just want you guys to know," Terri said calmly and clearly with a pointed look around at all the people watching, "that I don't believe a word of all that crap they're saying about Selene. And don't worry, I don't really think most of the other people do either. I think they're just starved for rumors and the Prophet is a good provider."  
  
"Thanks, Terri," Lily said, smiling. "I'll see you at the prefect meeting tomorrow, then." Terri nodded. "Bye, you guys!" she said. With a wave and a slight smile she turned around to join her Ravenclaw friends again.  
  
Feeling considerably more lighthearted, Vesta, Lily, Alice, and Renee went up to the Tower.  
  
A/N: This chapter felt a little weird writing. I don't know why. It was mainly written while listening to Dark Side of the Moon over and over, but I doubt that has anything to do with it, other than take away from my concentration. Thanks to the lovely musical Miss Saigon for the title of this chapter. Anyway, much thanks to Miss Lady Padfoot for the first ever review of this fic =) Next chapter I'm quite comfortable with, so it shouldn't take any time at all to get up.  



	5. Let's Hear it for the Boys

Remus bent over in concentration. He only had an inch left; he could finish his Transfiguration essay before he had to be at the prefect meeting at eight.  
  
Except what if Terri was there early, and he was there early? They could talk. Talking would give Remus an excuse to look her in the eyes, which he seldom did. Well, actually, he looked into her eyes a lot, but not often was she looking back into his.  
  
But if he went without finishing the essay, he'd have to finish it when he came back, and ten to one he wouldn't feel like finishing it. If he'd successfully talked with Terri, he would feel more like going and sitting in front of the fire and rehashing the conversation again and again, analyzing it until he had covered every possible meaning of what had been said.  
  
He sighed. He had always been the one who overanalyzed everything. It would be best for him to finish the essay and get there on time with everyone else.  
  
He only had half an inch left to go when he heard a voice. "Coming, Remus?" He turned and saw Lily looking at him. "To the meeting, I mean," she added.  
  
"Oh," he said, doing some quick thinking. He could still finish the essay -- he didn't have much more to go -- but if he stayed and finished the essay, he wouldn't be able to walk to the meeting with Lily. Lily was a good friend of Terri's, and possibly Terri and Lily might sit together at the meeting. If Remus walked with Lily, he might have a chance at sitting in close proximity to Terri, and perhaps even walking with her (and Lily, of course), on the way back from--  
  
"Remus?"  
  
"Oh," he said again. "Yeah, coming." He stuffed his things into his bag and picked it up. He'd just take it to the meeting with him; he didn't want to go put it in his dormitory and keep Lily waiting longer than she already had.  
  
"Something bothering you?" she asked, looking at him intently.  
  
"What? Oh, no!" Remus said, visibly flustered, as he held the portrait door open for her. She climbed through, and he tried to think of something plausible. "Just a lot of homework to think about -- keeps me busy, you know --" "Uh huh..." Lily said, and Remus could tell she wasn't buying it. "So, who's your patrolling partner?"  
  
"Um, Terri. Swann, I mean. Terri Swann," he said a bit too quickly. "She's my patrolling partner. We patrol together."  
  
Lily glanced at him.  
  
"Who's yours?" he asked quickly.  
  
She shook her head. "Snape, actually," she said. "I swear Dumbledore does things like this on purpose."  
  
"How horrible is he?" Remus asked.  
  
"Not too bad. He doesn't listen to me, and when I try to talk he hardly answers, but he never tries to curse me or anything," Lily said.  
  
Remus nodded thoughtfully. "Yeah, Dumbledore probably does do things like this on purpose."   
  
They walked in silence for awhile, and then Lily sprang a question on Remus -- a question he had been silently begging her not to ask.  
  
"Are you interested in Terri, Remus?"  
  
He nearly choked and he stumbled as he was walking. "What?" he asked, a little too quickly.  
  
"You heard me," she said, smiling.  
  
Remus glanced around to make sure nobody was near. "Don't say anything to her or anyone else," he said, his voice pleading.  
  
Lily looked shocked. "Of course I wouldn't!" she said.  
  
Remus sighed with relief.  
  
"I think you're a very good match," Lily added.  
  
He looked at her. "Really?"  
  
She nodded. "You guys would go great together, I think. It's too bad she's got that new boyfriend of hers." "New boyfriend?" Remus said, stopping in his tracks.  
  
"Oh -- yeah," Lily said, looking awkward. "That 7th year Hufflepuff Amos Diggory."  
  
"Got a thing for seventh years, has she?" he said dully, thinking also of Fabian Prewett.  
  
Lily smiled at him. "Don't worry about it," she said firmly.  
  
Remus wished he could stop worrying about it, but it was near impossible for him. "Right," he said, and held the door to the meeting room open for her.  
  
Terri was already there, and she smiled her characteristic half smile at the two of them as they came in. "Lily!" she said excitedly. "And Remus!" she said, still smiling. "Come on, you guys, have a seat." Lily sat down on Terri's right, and Remus sat down next to Lily.  
  
"Have you guys met Amos?" Terri asked, gesturing to her left. Remus found himself looking at the person he aspired to be -- Terri's boyfriend. He was rather tall, and had a large, broad-shouldered build. His chest was puffed out importantly and Remus saw the Head Boy badge on it. Remus recognized him as the Keeper of the Hufflepuff Quidditch team.  
  
Remus gave him a quick smile and nod, but couldn't force himself to saying anything to Amos.  
  
"We're going together to Hogsmeade next weekend," Terri said, inclining her head ever so slightly towards Amos. Remus could tell she was quite excited.  
  
"How nice," Lily commented, glancing at Remus. A fixed smile was across his face.  
  
"Very nice," Remus said, trying to relax. He was saved from further forced conversation because Dumbledore walked into the meeting room.  
  
"Hello, all prefects," he greeted them. "As you know, the threat of Lord Voldemort has been growing, as the staff and I would like to ensure the safety of all students as much as possible. Therefore patrol duties have been doubled."   
  
There was a low murmur of dissent among the prefects. Dumbledore smiled sympathetically. "I know that this is a trying time for many of you, and that there is already a good deal of homework for the fifth, sixth, and seventh years. However, I must ask you to do this because we need the extra help to assist in keeping our school safe.  
  
"Teachers will continue to do the patrolling on the weekends. The rest of you will now have two nights a week of patrolling as opposed to one, and each session for these nights will be two hours long, to be shared with your patrol partner. If the Head Boy and Head Girl would help me hand out new schedule sheets--"  
  
Amos Diggory leapt up, as did a seventh year girl Remus did not know. Looking at his new schedule, he saw that his patrol partner had not changed, and he smiled. Apparently, he had Tuesdays and Fridays patrolling from nine till eleven with Ms. Terri Swann. The other prefects may not like this double-effort arrangement, but Remus thought it just fine.  
  
"If no one has any questions," Dumbledore continued, "Then we are all dismissed." No one had any, so the meeting broke up.   
  
"Care to walk with us?" Lily asked Terri and Amos.  
  
"I wouldn't be going your way," Amos said, and gave Terri a goodbye peck on the cheek. Remus tried not to stare.  
  
Terri hurried to join Lily and Remus. "What do you guys think about these new schedules?" she asked.  
  
Lily grumbled. "They could be worse, but still, four hours a week patrolling with Snape? Nobody would wish for that."  
  
"I don't think they're so bad," Remus said, which was a huge understatement for him.  
  
Terri smiled slightly. "No, they're not. I hope we'll get to talk a lot more while we patrol, Remus," she said. He opened his mouth to respond, but she said, "Well, I go this way. I'll talk to you both later."  
  
When she was out of earshot, Lily looked at him. "What are you thinking?" she asked.  
  
"I'm thinking my Tuesdays and Fridays are looking to be a lot better, and I'm thinking Gryffindor needs to beat Hufflepuff in the Quidditch match next month," Remus said, completely honest.  
  
Sirius had other plans than essays and prefect meetings after dinner. Right after he had finished, he went to meet Layne at the dancing house elves tapestry on the fourth floor. She was waiting for him and pulled him into a long kiss as soon as he was there.  
  
"Hey," he smiled at her, pulling away.  
  
She didn't say anything, just wrapped her arms around his neck and looked at him expectantly.  
  
"I've got a Transfiguration essay to finish before tomorrow," he said, not expecting her to really care.  
  
She merely quirked an eyebrow at him a fraction of an inch.  
  
"That's what I thought," he said.  
  
She smiled mysteriously and pulled him into another much longer kiss, to which he naturally didn't object.  
  
"McGonagall's a hag," she said, pausing.  
  
"She's not really. She's a big old softy on the inside," Sirius said. "Unlike you. You're a veritable bitch."  
  
Layne merely smiled, not bothering to deny it. "She gives too many detentions. Especially to me."  
  
Sirius shrugged. "I don't mind; I never do detentions alone. I at least have James to talk to nearly ever time." Layne tilted her head slightly. "Doesn't she separate you two?" she asked. "I mean, after you guys took Mrs. Norris and locked her in the Vanishing Cabinet. Filch was pissed.  
  
Sirius smiled reminiscently before replying. "Yeah, but we can still talk even if we're not in the same detention," he said casually. Layne threw him a questioning glance, and he smiled. "C'mon, you don't need to know everything about me. I'm a man of mystery."  
  
"Right," Layne snorted. "Anyway, did you see Marcus today?"  
  
"Yeah. He cornered me after my Charms class and said something along the lines of ÔI wish you the best of luck, mate, because she's going to give you hell, and no hard feelings, because I don't miss her.'" Sirius said, grinning.  
  
Layne smirked. "Well, I don't think I'll be as rough on you as I was on Marcus." "I just hope you don't cheat on me like you did him," Sirius said, keeping his voice light and joking as though it didn't make a difference to him one way or the other.  
  
"I hope you don't cheat on me!" she countered, and he looked offended.  
  
"I haven't cheated on a girl since fifth year!" he said, frowning at her.  
  
"Which was last year," she reminded him.  
  
"Well, it's a long time for me," he said, shrugging.  
  
"Anyway, if you cheated on me, or I cheated on you, it would make a hell of a story," Layne declared.  
  
"Story?" Sirius asked.  
  
"Yeah. The most flirtatious couple at Hogwarts -- and probably the most physical -- cheating on each other," she continued.  
  
Sirius shook his head at her. "You're just interested in me for that title, aren't you?" he asked, pretending to be affronted.  
  
"I'm interested in you for the same reasons you're interested in me," she replied smoothly. She pecked him on the cheek and walked down the hall.  
  
Sirius shook his head again. He'd never met a girl like Layne -- a girl so interested in titles and her reputation. He had to admit, Layne's reputation did give his own a run for its money.  
  
Sirius woke up for the second time on Halloween for breakfast. He and James, Peter, and Remus had been up an our previous, stealthily going down all the halls they knew and preparing for their Halloween prank.  
  
It was different than all their previous pranks. It wasn't taking place at the feast that night, it was going on the entire day. It should prove to be very entertaining and also, they thought, very frustrating.  
  
They were right. People came down to breakfast looking in wonder to see there was none. They glanced around, looking at the teachers, who were also looking confused and a bit suspicious. Dumbledore called the attention of the hall, and said, "Please sit at your regular house tables. I am going to the kitchens to see what this is all about. Don't worry." He seemed neither overly concerned nor agitated by the missing pumpkin juice, toast, and scones.  
  
Upon his return, the entire Great Hall looked, to their great surprise, at him and found him leading a long procession of house elves that were carrying a great deal of dishes for breakfast. Apparently, the house elves had not been able to get the food to appear on the tables, or in fact magically move it in any way. They had to physically carry it into the Great Hall, which had never been done before.  
  
Things continued like this all day. The lessons had to be canceled because everyone found their wands wouldn't work properly. Nobody could get in and out of their common rooms -- for the Gryffindors, the Fat Lady's portrait wouldn't move. In fact, all the portraits had ceased movement. The prefects couldn't get inside their bathroom. The suits of armor didn't speak to anyone, and the pumpkins that were supposed to float in the Hall for Halloween had all fallen to the floor before breakfast.  
  
Owl post was another thing. There were no owls coming in; instead, inside the Owlery there were hundreds of new small boxes, each bearing a student's name, and if you forgot the owls that had delivered the letters to these boxes it was not hard at all seeing it was a Muggle post office of sorts.  
  
Most of the students, seeing as they were locked out of their common rooms for the day, had spent the day on the grounds, watching the gold and red leaves begin to fall from the trees and looking across the lake. All of the sixth year Gryffindors had decided to spend the better part of their day lazing about by the lake as well -- in separate groups, of course, because Lily would not stand for being in the same area as James. However, the girls did visit where the boys were to ask them how they did it, which was a question that many had been coming and asking them. Nobody was fooled by their innocent eyes and their exclamations of "Why are we always blamed?" They did, however, let the Gryffindor sixth year girls on the joke.  
  
"Well, it was really complicated. Merlin had once created a spell so powerful that, although it was magic, undid magic for a limited time-- no magic attempted in that room could be used for twelve hours if the spell was used. It was ridiculously hard to find, the spell. We eventually found it in the Restricted Section--Peter had to ask Trelawney for a note so he could look in a book about Merlin and see how great of a Seer he was," Sirius told them, gesturing at Peter. What a brilliant plan.  
  
"Once we got it it took the better part of the month to get it down -- we couldn't use it outside, because that's too large an area for the spell to work, and it's a very difficult spell. That's why everyone can use their wands out here, but I don't think they know that, and we're not going to tell them. The hardest part was the Great Hall, it took Sirius, James, and me to get it to work in there," Remus continued.  
  
"And the Owlery? Did you just conjure a couple hundred little boxes?" Vesta asked.  
  
"Yeah, actually," James said, although he was looking and smiling at Lily.  
  
"Brilliant," Alice said admiringly, and the rest of the girls agreed, although Lily grudgingly so. Sirius grinned.  
  
"My idea," he proclaimed.  
  
"You wouldn't have thought of it if Peter hadn't been able to control his wand that day," James argued.  
  
Sirius shrugged. "Still my idea. As if anyone else in this school could have the incredible genius to come up with a prank so that a magical institution couldn't use magic."  
  
Renee smiled. "It sure is amazing. You guys are going to be really powerful wizards. It's quite terrifying." Sirius beamed. "I love inspiring fear."  
  
The house elves had not been able to use their magic for the feast, so the entire school ended up eating a Halloween feast of pumpkin juice, sandwiches, and various fruits. By the time dinner was done, however, the ability to use their magic was being restored, and some students were able to return to their houses.  
  
"It was a brilliant plan and everything, but I don't know how Muggles can live without magic," Sirius heard more than one random student say, and he grinned. The teachers hadn't been able to prove the Marauders had done it and therefore they had escaped punishment. To add to the glory, the entire student body was a combination of furious and revering of the four. As Sirius got into his four-poster and closed the drapes, he reflected upon the prank, and upon the furious gazes of the Slytherins who had been unable to return to their common room until an additional three hours after the feast. It had been a very successful day in Marauder history indeed.  
  
A/N: Well, I've started AU (Act Up) and it's going to be much harder for me to update, but I'll do my best! Thanks to Jewels for reviewing -- and no, I don't mind the long review; I loved it! Credit to Footloose (and probably other things), where I got the title for this chapter. Please review. Thanks! 


	6. Out of Reach

November came, bringing cold, though not biting, weather. It also brought an onslaught of hard Quidditch training for the Gryffindor team. James had become captain the year previous and was determined to win the Cup this year, unlike the last, due to unfortunate last minute replacements for players with injuries. (It was still debated as to whether these injuries were Slytherin-induced.) This meant three training sessions a week, leaving the team exhausted, but still playing admirably.  
  
December brought Gryffindor's first match, and it was against Hufflepuff. Although Hufflepuff had not won the Cup in eight years, it was rumored that Amos Diggory had put together quite a good team this year, and James was determined not to let that team beat his own, even for one match.  
  
"All right, team. We're good and we know it and the rest of the school knows it, so let's get out there and kick some Hufflepuff arse!" he roared fiercely, and the girls on the team all giggled before recovering and heading out to the field. A sea of spectators met their eyes and James felt that familiar rush. There was no doubt about it -- this was going to be a great game.  
  
Ten minutes into the game, James was still as confident as he had been surveying the onlookers.  
  
"Gryffindor leading thirty to ten with Hufflepuff in possession. Marsh passes to Mulch, Mulch speeds towards the goalpost....Watson intercepts -- passes to Potter -- Diggory lets it by, and Gryffindor scores!" The Ravenclaw fourth year Gwenog Jones was commentating as usual.  
  
James soared around the pitch, feeling better about the game than ever. His mind and sight were clear; he was certain that they would win this match.  
  
Two Hufflepuff scorings and three Gryffindor scorings later, they did. Gryffindor's Keeper Lisa Ketching caught the Snitch, ending the game after thirty-four minutes and eight seconds.  
  
"And Gryffindor wins the match, 210 points to thirty!" Gwenog Jones screamed as the crowd erupted. The Gryffindor team sank down to the ground, and James in turn hugged each and every one of them. He felt as though they had already won the Cup, Lily Evans was his girlfriend, and Severus Snape had just been turned into a dung beetle.  
  
Sirius, Remus, and Peter had left the pitch as soon as the match had been won to make a quick trip to Hogsmeade and get party supplies, as was planned. This didn't bother James a bit. There were plenty of other people to be around and plenty of other things to do while waiting. The Gryffindor team changed out of their Quidditch robes and screamed excitedly and nonsensically for a bit, until they headed up to the common room where most of the members of their House had already congregated. For a while there was a lot of talking, laughing, and congratulating, until the three Marauders that had been missing returned with huge amounts of food and drink. The Gryffindors went wild, and proceeded to party heartily.  
  
"Great job, mate," Sirius said, smiling at James. Peter and Remus agreed wholeheartedly. James grinned in reply as he scanned the common room.  
  
"She's not here," Sirius said quietly, as though reading his mind. James furrowed his brow.  
  
"Why wouldn't she be? Everyone's here."  
  
"She might turn up later," Peter said, attempting to console his friend.  
  
"She doesn't want to see you. Something about the sight of your gloating and hair-tussling making her too sick to join the party right now," Remus said, smiling almost sympathetically.  
  
James frowned. "That's absurd. I only gloat a reasonable amount. Seriously, mates, why doesn't she like me? What've I done to make her so angry all the time?"  
  
"It's more the fact that you exist, if you know what I mean," Sirius said, a hint of a smile on his lips, and James was forcibly reminded of fifth year by the lake.  
  
"That's not good enough," he said testily. "Who are you to tell me why she doesn't like me?" The fact that Sirius was only answering a question James had asked was irrelevant to him. Why did he always get so defensive when dealing with Evans, anyway?  
  
Sirius shrugged. "I don't know what to make you do, mate," he said. "Find yourself a girl that actually enjoys your company. C'mon, just choose any of them. There are plenty. Not as many as what I could have, but not too shabby either."   
  
James snorted. "I wouldn't touch half of the girls you choose," he said.  
  
Sirius smirked. "You don't touch any of the girls I choose, Prongs."  
  
Peter laughed appreciatively and even Remus couldn't help but smile at that. James, keeping his dignity, gave Sirius a look and went off in search of a girl to chat with. Any one of them would do, so long as Evans came in and saw.  
  
Lily made her appearance around eight that night. James glanced up from his talking with his two Chaser teammates and saw her drinking a butterbeer and talking with her friend Alice. James strutted over to her.  
  
"Hey, Lily," he said, edging his shoulder in front of Alice so that she was no longer part of the conversation.  
  
Lily looked at him, and her upper lip curled.  
  
"See the match today?" James continued as though he did not notice this less than affectionate response.  
  
Lily continued to glare at him.  
  
"Are you like most girls, Lily? Like to see a guy in their Quidditch robes?"  
  
"Potter, I'm warning you," she said, her voice low and deadly.  
  
James ruffled his hair and looked at her. "I'd skip a ride on a broomstick any day to take a ride with you." Pricky but suave, he thought. Not to mention incredibly overdone, but that was its charm. Besides, he was James Potter. He could take the most incredibly mundane things, say them to a girl, and make them throw their knickers off.  
  
"Potter, you arsehole!" Lily shrieked, and threw her butterbeer at his face -- not just the liquid inside, but the bottle as well. The bottle connected with his forehead loudly and painfully, and the butterbear drenched his robes.  
  
"What the hell was that for?" he snarled, although he was perfectly aware of her reasoning.  
  
She gave him a look of disbelief before taking out her wand. "Do me a favor and leave me alone. I don't want to see you, talk to you, listen to you, or even hear from a stranger a joke that your father's cousin's great-step-aunt told them in passing. I want you to go away and leave me the hell alone."   
  
"Evans--" he started. He hoped nobody was staring. A quick glance around proved they were.  
  
"Leave me alone," she repeated. "I swear I'll curse if you don't go now."  
  
James almost took out his wand and blasted her to the ground. He was angry at her beautiful fiery green eyes for locking in his gaze. He was mad at her ringing voice for making his ears drink in her words. He wanted to break her lovely soft hands for holding the wand that might curse him. He just wanted to take her whole annoying body and snog her till she couldn't breathe.  
  
But he didn't curse her or snog her. He merely looked into her eyes -- it was hard for him not to do so -- and inclined his head slightly. Politely. Then he gave her a little smirk and went over to the boy's staircase to change robes.  
  
"Bad luck, Prongs," he heard Peter mutter to him sympathetically as he crossed the common room. He didn't turn around; he was fully aware of all the people staring at him.  
  
When he got back downstairs, he found the party had again resumed. He went over to Alice to see where Lily had gone.  
  
"She was seething. Went straight to the dormitory," Alice said, a somewhat sympathetic look on her face. "What you said was rather rude, though, even if you didn't really mean it," she added reproachfully. James looked away uncomfortably. "Yeah, I know," he at last said gruffly. "Should I apologize, d'you think?" Alice didn't speak for a moment. She looked out at the party going on. James was about to ask her the question again when she turned to face him. "The thing about Lily," she said quietly, "Is that she doesn't hate you." James nearly fell to the ground in shock. "The emphasis being on the word 'you'," she attached quickly. "She just...can't you tell she's scared, James?"  
  
Another shocker. "What are you on about?" he asked her, feeling quite dazed.  
  
Alice looked away again, trying to find the right words. "She hates how you act, sure -- the way you do cruel things to people just because you can." James was about to protest, but she cut him off. "I think Lily knows there's another side to you, deep down there, and she just doesn't want to admit that. I also think that she's dead scared that you're jerking her around. She thinks you're playing some elaborate game where you toy with her emotions. You know, almost to the point where she falls for the game, and then you give her a slap in the face."  
  
"I am not!" he cried indignantly.  
  
"Well, Lily doesn't know that, see," Alice said patiently. "And she's not ever going to know that if you keep acting like you are now."  
  
There was a spell of silence.  
  
"So, yes, apologizing to her would be the best thing to do, but don't expect anything," Alice said quietly. James nodded at her. "Thanks," he said, and she nodded at him with a small smile and went up to the girl's dormitory.  
  
x x x  
  
After a whole long night of ranting about the obscene James Potter, Lily woke up feeling better than she had the previous night. Vesta had gone upstairs with her and they had talked him over for awhile, until Lily was able to go to sleep. Vesta and Alice were extremely objective people -- they took everything into consideration, and made fully thought-out decisions. Renee was the most blunt of any of them, and often reacted on impulse rather than thinking things through. Lily tended to think the same as Renee, except it always seemed to get Lily into more trouble than her.  
  
The four girls had Charms that morning as well as Potions, and they had Friday afternoon off. They figured they would spend the afternoon trying to finish all the work they had been given for the winter holidays, which started the following day.  
  
"I'm staying here," Lily said without hesitation. The girls had just come back from their lunch, and were ready as they'd ever be to start work. "My parents don't want me to because they haven't seen me in so long, but they know just as well as I do that I'll go mad if I'm at home for two weeks, hearing my sister coo over her lovely fiancé and the bloody wedding." Vesta laughed. "I'm staying here, too. I thought about it, and I don't want to keep you here alone." Lily started to protest, but Vesta shook her head. "Don't worry about it," she said. "I'm home for the summer holidays, after all. Not only that, but I've already signed up."  
  
"I'm going home," Renee announced. "I know Hogwarts is great at Christmas because so few people are here and there's more freedom, but my parents really want me to see them." Alice nodded. "Same with mine. Plus, I won't mind going somewhere else for a change."  
  
There was a lapse into silence before Lily said listlessly, "I suppose we should start on all this work."  
  
The other three nodded their agreement and stared at their schoolbags.  
  
"There's a lot of it," Vesta said unhappily.  
  
More nods. After a few more minutes of nothing productive, Renee shook her head. "This is ridiculous," she pronounced. "It's never going to get done on its own." She grabbed her History of Magic book from her bag and started on a long and tiresome essay that everyone had to finish but nobody seemed to be able to start.  
Vesta, Lily, and Alice knew she had a point, however -- it wasn't going to get done on its own. Thus, they took out their own History of Magic books and proceeded to all work on the essay, occasionally throwing out comments, asking each other questions, or seeing what one another wrote.  
  
By the time they were ready to go down for dinner, they had completed all their History of Magic homework for the winter break.  
  
"Only every other class left," grumbled Lily as they took their seats at the Gryffindor table in the great hall. She vaguely noticed the Peter, Remus, James, and Sirius a bit of a ways down the table, all poring over a piece of parchment, but she was too starved to be intrigued. She helped herself to a large helping of chicken. The other girls did the same, ravenous from all the work they had done.  
  
About ten minutes later, when they'd finished the majority of the meal -- Renee and Lily had just started on their pieces of apple pie -- the boys came over and sat near them, for once not looking mischievous or cheerful, but rather ashen-faced and shocked instead.  
  
"What happened?" asked Vesta at once. They could all tell something was up. None of the boys knew where to begin, but eventually James found his voice. "We've got this map, and we were looking at it, and there's -- well, there's something all of you should see."  
  
He pulled out a piece of parchment, and tapped it while muttering something -- Lily didn't quite catch what. Then he handed it to the girls and they proceeded to look it over.  
  
"In the far right corner," Remus said, pointing. "Gryffindor Tower, your dorm."  
  
For a minute nobody spoke. The boys surveyed the girls and the girls looked at the map, hardly believing what it said.  
  
"Are you sure that--" Lily began, but Peter nodded. "The map never lies," he said, looking quite serious.  
  
"Well, hadn't we better go, then?" Alice said. "To our dorm, I mean. To check. Because what if that map thing is telling the truth?" Renee nodded. "We need to make sure, even if this is some prank they're pulling on us."  
  
Lily had been suspecting that too, but Alice was right. They did need to make sure. They hastened away to Gryffindor Tower, leaving their dishes of apple pie half eaten. They took the steps two at a time. Vesta nearly knocked over a first year as she attempted to get off a staircase just as it was about to change. Nobody spoke until they got to the Fat Lady.  
  
"Morium Delicorpis," they all said in unison, and the portrait swung open. They dashed across the common room, went up the staircase, and into their dormitory. Flinging open the door, they pulled back the curtains of a four poster that hadn't been used all year --  
  
The map had been right. Selene Larson was sitting on her old bed.  
  
x x x  
  
A/N: I liked this chapter a lot more than I've liked others I've written. It seemed to fit when I wrote it. Can't quite explain it...Anyway, this is about the in-between updating time it's gonna be from now on, due to me actually having things to do (I'm fainting from shock). The "x x x " is to signify when it's the end of a part of the chapter. It won't let me do the three asterisks for some odd reason. Anyway, much thanks to Rosie eisoR for the great constructive criticism review. Loved it. Also, credit and thanks to The Get Up Kids for the title of this chapter. (I always have such a hard time coming up with chapter titles; it sucks). And sorry about the cliffie, but I happen to like them in moderate dosage. Please review! Thanks.  



	7. Devil's Dance Floor

For a long time nobody was able to speak. After what seemed like ages, Selene broke the silence.  
  
"Say something," she said, her voice pleading. "Don't stare like this." Lily found her voice. "Er -- hi," she said, attempting to keep her voice level. She found she couldn't, and so she barreled on. "Selene, what are you doing here?! How the hell --"  
  
"It's a bit of a long story," she said meekly. "I knew I'd see you eventually -- I don't know where Dumbledore's office is, and I figured you could take me there. I couldn't rightly turn up during dinner. I need your help," she said desperately, looking at each of them in turn.  
  
Alice nodded slightly. "We'll go find the Headmaster," she said. "Stay right here."  
  
The girls save Selene silently went down the staircase to the common room, and found the male Gryffindor sixth years staring at them. James was holding a silvery cloak.  
  
"She'll be needing to see the Headmaster," he said, thrusting the cloak towards the girls. "Keep her hidden in this. Go ahead and take her to Dumbledore's office. His password is Sugar Quill."  
  
Wordlessly, the girls ran back to Selene, told her their plan, and proceeded to Dumbledore's office.  
  
He wasn't there upon their arrival, so they went ahead and sat down. Lily had a million questions she was bursting to ask, and she had a feeling the other girls did as well, but they all knew that it would be best to wait until Dumbledore was there.  
  
After approximately ten minutes of waiting in tense silence, Dumbledore came into his office. He wasn't at all perturbed that they had found the way in, but when he saw Selene, Lily saw his eyes widen slightly before he spoke.  
  
"Good evening," he said gravely. "I trust you have something important to relate to me?" Selene, looking very anxious, nodded.  
  
Sir," she began, "I just turned up at Hogwarts because I had nowhere else to go. I know there's been a lot of talk about me and my family, and I guess I came here because I figured I could tell you the truth. This is the safest place I could think of."  
  
"My family," Selene hesitated, her eyes darting from one person to the other. "My family has been helping Voldemort."  
  
There was a slight intake of breath around the room, but the other Gryffindors took Dumbledore's lead and continued to look intently at Selene, inviting her to continue.  
  
"It's not like it was by choice. He -- he threatened horrible things. He didn't curse us, but I think it would be better if he had. He said he would capture and then kill family friends -- the Prewetts and the Greathouses, for starters. He mentioned all of you -- I don't know how he knows your names, but he does. And we couldn't take that risk. My parents couldn't dare to have all our friends die. We joined him," Selene continued, her voice shaking slightly.  
  
"They must have known we were both a powerful and weak family. Powerful in magic, weak in what we stood for. We only considered the people we loved, not all the people we had to hurt."  
  
"I never wanted to...." She seemed unable to finish her sentence, so she started over, this time speaking directly to Dumbledore. "My parents didn't want me involved; they told me to run away. And I did, and the first place I could think of was here, with you. I know I'm not safe, because Voldemort will be looking for me now, but I know you have to know this truth, Professor. I'm just...I'm just so scared, sir. I hate all of this. I had the choice we made. I hate the options we had. I hate the fact I don't know if my parents are safe. I hate that my parents are voluntary but unwilling slaves to Voldemort's twisted mind. I can't tell you how much I've thought about this and how sick it makes me." Selene's voice was bitter. There was no trace of the girl Lily once knew. This was only the shadow of what Selene had been before her life had been mangled by Voldemort's powers of persuasion.  
  
There was a long silence following Selene's speech. Finally, Dumbledore looked at her and said, "I trust you."  
  
Relief flooded through Lily. She had never known Dumbledore to have flawed judgment, and hearing that made her swimming mind slightly more at ease.  
  
"Rest assured there is an association of people working against Lord Voldemort," Dumbledore told the group. "They are scheduled to have a meeting this New Year's Eve, but in light of your news I will move this meeting to the 27th, which is as soon as I can possibly expect all the people to gather. Please understand how serious it is that nobody knows you are here, Selene. The consequences of you being found could be drastic. There is indeed no safer place for you than Hogwarts at present. I ask you to stay confined in the girl's dormitory." He paused, looking from girl to girl in front of him. "Does anyone else know about Selene's arrival?"  
  
"The boys," Renee said automatically. "Peter, James, Sirius, and Remus."  
  
"See that they do not tell anyone about her." The girls nodded, and Dumbledore paused slightly before continuing. "It would be best if you did not mention to anyone the group of people I mentioned earlier. Do your best to forget I've told you about them. As far as you are concerned this group does not exist."   
  
"But, Professor," Vesta said eagerly, "We're not frightened; perhaps we could join this group. I know we're all willing to help the Wizarding community in any way we can--"  
  
Dumbledore cut her off. "I don't doubt the valor of anyone here," he said, a small smile on his face. "But this group that you have never heard of is comprised only of overage wizards and witches, which means none of you would qualify. I am afraid I could not endanger any of my students so much as to let them join such a highly perilous organisation as this. Indeed, I cannot even talk about it very much due to the amount of secrecy and peril shrouding this association."  
  
The girls knew he was right, and frankly they were too steeped in thought to argue. Before the five girls left the room, Dumbledore called after them, "This is a good turn of events after all. Selene is once again with her friends at Hogwarts, and the Potters can now host their New Year's Eve party. They were quite put out when they heard that this nonexistent organisation was to be holding a meeting at their house the night they had planned one of their fabulous parties."  
  
Lily giggled slightly at Dumbledore's ability to keep such a light mood on situations so unexpected as this. The girls helped Selene under the Invisibility Cloak and were about to leave the Headmaster's office when Alice spoke up.  
  
"Er, Professor?" she asked. He turned to look at her, waiting for her to continue. "Could I sign up to stay winter holidays?"  
  
"Me too," Renee added quickly.  
  
Dumbledore smiled. "Hogwarts is always welcome to you," he said, his eyes dancing.  
  
xxx  
  
In the initial days of winter break, the girls tried talking to Selene about her experiences while serving Lord Voldemort. They found, however, that it was very difficult for them to do so. Selene was very reluctant to talk about her days in service to the Dark Lord, few though they were, and her roommates knew it must be difficult enough for her already. Christmas had been a very sorry occasion, as Selene had been hoping to receive at least some word from her parents, and had gotten none.  
  
"Think about it," Renee whispered to Lily one morning as Selene grabbed the Invisibility Cloak, on loan from James Potter, to go and shower. "She was helping the most evil wizard, and she ran away from him. She must live in constant terror -- you know, that any moment Voldemort will get her. I know I do."  
  
Lily nodded. "I have this mental image of him bursting through the dormitory door and taking her and doing curses on all of us...I know it's silly, because when do convicted mass murderers burst through Gryffindor Tower? Still, I'm terrified it's going to happen."  
  
"I think Dumbledore's going to move her to an even safer place after he talks to all those people at the meeting tomorrow," Renee told Lily. Tomorrow was the twenty-seventh, she realised with a jolt.  
  
Lily didn't say anything, but she knew it was understood. Nobody wanted Selene to leave, even if she was a danger to their safety. They were her friends and had become extremely protective of her during her stay.  
  
For most of winter break, Lily was either working in the common room on her massive pile of homework for the holidays or in the dormitory keeping Selene company, a favorite pastime of the girls as of late. On New Years Eve, they had Renee and Vesta go down to Hogsmeade while Alice and Lily stayed with Selene (who was hardly ever alone). They picked up some butterbeer, candy from Honeydukes, and a few small crackers at Zonko's to have a nice dormitory New Year's Eve party.  
  
Selene smiled for one of the first times when she saw the butterbeer. "I miss this stuff," she said, taking a bottle.  
  
"Yeah, it's good, isn't it?" Alice said, smiling and grabbing a bottle as well.  
  
Lily checked the clock on the dormitory wall. "A minute to midnight," she said. The noise from the Gryffindor common room party drifted into the dormitory, and she was glad she was up here celebrating with Selene rather than down there, running away from James Potter as he attempted to kiss her at midnight, like last year.  
  
"Ten, nine, eight, seven --"  
  
Lily looked around at every bed, happy that there was a person to occupy each.  
  
"Six, five, four, three--" She joined in with the other girls and the people downstairs.  
  
"Two, one, Happy New Year!" they all screamed, popping their crackers, more bottles of butterbeer, and opening packages of candy (New Years Kneesocks Bites, Limited Time Only).  
  
Their party ran quite late. Around four in the morning they ran out of supplies from Hogsmeade and Alice and Lily snuck down to the kitchens to pick up some more food. The sixth years were all considerably pleased with themselves, because the common room party had only lasted till two before Professor McGonagall, complete with tartan hairnet and frilly nightdress, had come in raging that they clean their trash up and go to sleep.  
  
By six, they had all fallen asleep and woken up very early all things considered and quite late for normal Hogwarts students, at eleven.  
  
"Do you know any charms to make yourself awake again, Lily?" Vesta asked, yawning.  
  
Even if Lily had known them, she would never have been able to remember it. She was so tired her brain felt like it was fogging up. "Nope," she said, stretching her arms. "We'd better get dressed, though...maybe this afternoon we can take a nap or something."  
  
They all nodded and Lily and Alice headed downstairs to the bathroom so they could shower and prepare for the day.  
  
They were halfway across the common room when they heard someone call them.  
  
"Dumbledore wants to see us all. You might want to get everyone in your dormitory to come along," Sirius told them. Lily and Alice knew "everyone in your dormitory" meant "and bring Selene along in the cloak."  
  
No longer tired, and instead very confused, Lily went to gather up her friends before heading to Dumbeldore's office.  
  
When she got there, she saw the four boys sitting by Dumbledore's desk, and Dumbledore standing next to his magnificent phoenix Lily had always admired, Fawkes. He was reading what appeared to be a letter, and as he finished his attention turned to his students.  
  
"Ah," he said, and Lily, looking carefully at his robes, noticed they had smoke burns in them. Fully confused, she snapped her attention back to the Headmaster's face.  
  
"Something rather unexpected happened last night at the Potter's New Years party," Dumbledore said gravely. Alarmed, James looked at him questioningly.  
  
"Death Eaters -- I assume all of you are familiar with that term," A chorus of nods met Dumbledore's questioning gaze. "Death Eaters decided to have a bit of fun and crash the party."  
  
"They didn't!" James cried, shocked and angry. "That's my house! My parents! Their friends!" Dumbledore held a hand up to silence him.  
  
"There is a secret organisation most of you know about that must be kept a secret," he said. "They were going to be having a meeting last night, but due to recent events," he glanced at Selene, "I moved it to the twenty-seventh, and let the Potters have their party. Apparently, though, nobody informed the Death Eaters of this change, and so they, no doubt thinking they would find a meeting of important anti-Voldemort people discussing very important things, instead found practically the whole Ministry counting down to midnight."  
  
Although Dumbledore was smiling, Lily could not find the good nor the humour in this. Although it was rather bold of her, she asked, "Well, then, why are you smiling?"  
  
"A number of reasons, actually. First of all, nobody attending the party was hurt. Second, we managed to capture more than half of the Death Eaters. Third, we managed to have some escape."  
  
"I fail to see how that's a good thing," James said loudly, apparently taking the attack at his house to heart.  
  
"It is indeed a good thing," Dumbledore said gently. "You see, instead of crashing a meeting, these Death Eaters crashed a party. The Death Eaters that escaped are probably at Voldemort's side right now, telling him that their information was incorrect, that no such organisation exists, that there is nothing to worry about." There was a pause as Dumbldore's nine students processed this information.  
  
"So for now, the Dark Lord thinks that, although the Ministry members are threats, there is no organisation for the express purpose of defeating him, and therefore is going to be more lax?" Vesta wanted to clarify.  
  
"Exactly," Dumbledore said, smiling still. "True, one of the chandeliers in your house was dropped to the ground, James, but other than that and a bit of ruined clothing," he glanced at his robes, "things are going splendidly."  
  
James looked personally insulted that the Death Eaters had crashed his parents' party, shot curses at his Professor, and broken one of his chandeliers, but he fixed his eyes on Dumbledore and said, "I guess it's all for the best, sir, if no one got hurt. I mean, there will always be new clothing and chandeliers, won't there?"  
  
Lily almost lost the ability to think heartless and demeaning thoughts about James Potter for that moment.  
  
x x x  
  
A/N: I'm so so so so sorry that I've taken so long. It's Act Up taking away all my time and energy of writing. But I've finally got a chapter up, so please review if you can. Thanks to blackangels and Rosie eisoR for reviewing the chapter previous. Oh, and Rosie, thanks for all your pointers. I'm glad I've got someone British telling me what they really say. I personally dislike the word snog too, so I'm glad you guys don't say it too much. That means I don't have to write it too much.  
Also, this chapter's title is taken for an awesome band called Flogging Molly. Everyone go listen to them.   
That is all. ::bows:: 


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